The Board has granted service connection for right and left upper extremity disorders (claimed as bilateral arm pain and numbness) secondary to the service-connected cervical strain. The Veteran's tension headaches with migraine features are also rated higher than 10 percent. However, further development is needed due to incomplete information regarding her psychiatric conditions and fibromyalgia.
The deciding factor: Incomplete medical records do not provide sufficient evidence to determine if the Veteran's current psychiatric disorders or fibromyalgia are related to service or secondary to a service-connected disability.
- Claimed conditions
- Acquired psychiatric disorder (including PTSD and personality disorder NOS), Fibromyalgia
- How they argued it
- Secondary to another service-connected condition
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- October 2, 2014
- Citation
- 1443859
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 1443859.
What this means for you
A remand is not a loss. The Board sent the case back for more development — often a new exam or missing records — before making a final decision. Many remands later end in a grant, and the decision spells out exactly what the Board wanted to see.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Veteran's service-connected PTSD and fibromyalgia disabilities render her unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation, thus meeting the criteria for TDIU.
- Dismissed
The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection based on CUE in rating decisions have been dismissed.,The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection based on CUE in rating decisions have been dismissed.,The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection based on CUE in rating decisions have been dismissed.,The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection based on CUE in rating decisions have been dismissed.,The Veteran's claims for earlier effective dates for service connection based on CUE in rating decisions have been dismissed.
- Remanded (sent back)
The reduction of the disability rating for headaches from 50% to 30% is not proper and is void ab initio. Effective dates are denied for various service connection claims.,Multiple issues related to initial disability ratings, effective dates, and earlier effective dates for higher ratings are remanded.
- Denied
The Board denied the Veteran's claim for a total disability rating based on individual unemployability (TDIU) due to her service-connected disabilities, finding that she was not unable to secure or follow a substantially gainful occupation consistent with her education and work history.
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